INtro to retreats & Pilgrimages
Retreats for Body & Mind, Soul & Spirit
Our Christian day retreats in Oxford are intentionally short and intimate, making them accessible alongside work, family, and everyday commitments. They take place in a setting that feels familiar and lived-in - much like a home - so you can settle quickly and feel at ease.
Most of us are familiar with moments when something greater than ourselves touches our inner depth:
a rainbow after rain, the stillness of a sunset, or the wonder of new life. Such experiences can awaken a sense of the sacred that gently points beyond ourselves.
Each of our retreats follows a theme that explores such meeting places of faith and daily life, gently noticing where God may already be present. While our themes are grounded in the Christian tradition and may draw on biblical stories, we welcome participants of all faiths and none. Our approach honours openness, respect, and attentive listening, allowing each participant to engage from where they are.
Creativity also plays a role in our retreats, offering a way to access insight beyond words alone. Through creative engagement, we invite deeper attentiveness to both our inner life and embodied experience.
In summary these are the kind of things you can expect on a retreat and you are invited to engage with what best supports you on the day:
mindful and embodied group practices
silence and quiet reflection
creative and playful exploration
connection with nature (weather permitting)
shared conversation (optional)
All our retreats include wholesome, nourishing food and the opportunity to explore selected wellbeing products that can support you beyond the retreat day.
“Frauke led us in the most delightful day.
A reflection on the beauty
of God’s creation reflected in us,
with well prepared
biblical references, poems and prayers.
Highly recommend.”
Sally L.
Pilgrimages
Pilgrimage is an ancient spiritual practice that involves making a physical journey with intention. While the destination may be a place of particular spiritual significance, pilgrims often discover that the journey itself becomes just as meaningful as the arrival.
Along the way, conversations unfold, questions surface, and moments of beauty and insight emerge. These encounters - shared and personal - can become touchstones that last well beyond the pilgrimage day.
Our Oxford based day pilgrimages are inspired by the lives of important religious figures that have walked the streets of Oxford at some point in the past.
At natural stopping points we pause to reflect on aspects of their journey and often gain new perspectives for us today.
our 2026 Retreat offers
Rooted - Day Retreat
“Trees are sanctuaries. Whoever knows how to speak to them, whoever knows how to listen to them, can learn the truth.” Hermann Hesse
Trees have a lot to teach us about ourselves and about the Sacred. It is not by accident that the Bible refers to trees right from Genesis, in the garden of Eden, through to the trees of life in Revelation.
Trees are a present feature in our lives - whether in our gardens and woods, or specific trees that mark a particular experience for us.
We can all relate to trees. Their calm and steadfast appearance, even when battered by wind and rain is testament to their deep rootedness. They provide us with shade and fresh air, tangible in the heat of summer, and a colourful spectacle in the height of autumn.
This day retreat will include guided reflections (inside and outside – weather allowing), time for personal quiet contemplation as well as creative exploration with some materials of trees we will gather.
st Frideswide - Day Pilgrimage
A reflective journey in the footsteps of Oxford’s patron saint.
St Frideswide was an 8th century Saxon Princess believed to have founded a monastery close to or on the premises of the current Oxford Cathedral, the place that now holds her shrine.
She was an inspirational woman who chose to dedicate her life in service to God even when asked to marry a king when all she wanted to be was a nun. She fled to Binsey where many sought her out for her healing gift according to legends of her time (and many are inspired by her story as they visit Oxford today).
Our day pilgrimage will take us from the woods via part of the Thames Path to the St Frideswide healing well and on to her shrine. We will explore different parts of her faith and life story at various stopping points on our journey together.
The 7.5-8 mile pilgrimage requires moderate fitness levels and has an incline near the start as well as even walking stretches.
Lunch is included in the price.
The day will end at Oxford Cathedral where we will be welcomed in as pilgrims. The day closes at 5pm. After this you are welcome to make your own way home or stay in the city. You may consider attending the Cathedral evensong at 6pm.
Advent - Reflections with art by Sieger Koeder
Sieger Koeder was a German born Christian artist who, after the experience of being a prisoner of war during WW2, spent his earlier years as an art teacher and his later life as an ordained Catholic Priest until his death in 2015. Throughout his life art remained an active expression of his faith and included many painted works as well as stained glass windows.
His art expression is brightly coloured and shows the influence of Marc Chagall. The artistic content is mainly rooted in biblical story and is described as having similar effect to the parables which Jesus used in his day: they lead us into deeper truth and meaning.
It is this invitation that we want to follow with this retreat:
a chance to journey into the season of Advent (leading up to Christmas) with space and time to ponder the deeper meaning of the Christmas story and what it’s invitation might be to us today.